Numerous proposals have been made for raising shrimp in captive facilities. Shrimp-stocked ponds have been used; however, conditions within the ponds have varied over substantial ranges thus preventing the obtaining of consistent harvests of marketable shrimp using reasonable quatities of food rations. Other efforts to raise shrimp in controlled environments have also met with limited success.
Flexible material dome-like enclosures have been previously used as environmental control areas for growing plants. Inflated and frame greenhouses have been successfully used for plant growth in certain areas of world where conditions such as light intensity, required temperatures, internal atmospheres and proper nourishment are readily able to be utilized. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Broadly, the present invention is a method and apparatus for raising Penaeid shrimp in a controlled environment comprising introducing shrimp into an elongated waterway defined by substantially impervious bottom and side walls which contain a body of seawater essentially stationary during daylight hours and slowly moving or flowing during some or all of the nighttime hours, maintaining a quantity of suitable species of algae growing within the waterway, providing a light-screening dome supported over and enclosing the waterway, maintaining levels of dissolved oxygen within the seawater and controlling the temperature of the seawater whereby substantial growth of the shrimp is accomplished.
It is a feature of the process that natural solar radiation through the light screening cover dome is varied to manipulate the amount of oxygen photosynthesized by the algae cultured on the sides and bottom of the waterway.
It is also a feature of the process that water temperature is controlled by radiational heating and evaporative cooling within the structure to provide optimum conditions for the animals.